Market Place

Digital Access

Home Delivery

Local news, prep sports, Chicago sports, local and regional entertainment, business, home and lifestyle, food, classified and more! News you use every day! Daily, Daily including the e-Edition or e-Edition only.

Text Alerts

Choose your news! Select the text alerts you want to receive: breaking news, prep sports scores, school closings, weather, and more. Text alerts are a free service from SaukValley.com, but text rates may apply.

Email Newsletters

Senate immigration bill boosted by border deal

By Associated Press DAVID ESPO, Associated Press ERICA WERNER

June 21, 2013

Caption

Vice President Joe Biden receives an award before speaking at the 84th annual League of United Latin American Citizens convention,Thursday, June 20, 2013, in Las Vegas. Biden stressed the importance of maintaining efforts to pass immigration reform in Congress this summer. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are finalizing a deal that could add dramatic security improvements to the U.S.-Mexico border and smooth the way for bipartisan Senate passage of far-reaching immigration legislation backed by President Barack Obama.

The deal doubling Border Patrol agents and adding hundreds of miles of fencing along the Southwest border has already won support from four undecided Republican senators who are now likely to back the immigration bill when it comes to a final vote. On Friday, senators were in final negotiations on other elements of the deal, including provisions on Social Security and other benefits, that could bring still more GOP support on board.

The amendment was expected to be formally unveiled in the Senate Friday and come to a vote early next week, with the overall bill headed for a final vote several days later. The legislation opening the door to citizenship for millions appeared within reach of securing the broad bipartisan majority that its authors say is needed to ensure serious consideration by the GOP-controlled House.

However, the outcome there remains far from certain because many conservatives are opposed to offering citizenship to people who came to this country illegally.

"It is safe to say that this agreement has the power to change minds in the Senate," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a lead author of the bill. "With this agreement, we have now answered every criticism that has come forward about the immigration bill."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the deal should satisfy those Republicans concerned that the border security provisions in the bill were too weak. "If they can't accept these provisions, then border security is not their problem," McCain said.

The deal was developed by Republican Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and John Hoeven of North Dakota, in consultation with Schumer, McCain and other members of the so-called Gang of Eight senators who wrote the immigration bill. It prevents immigrants now here illegally from attaining permanent resident status until a series of steps have been taken to secure the border.

These include doubling the Border Patrol with 20,000 new agents, 18 new unmanned surveillance drones, 350 miles of new pedestrian fencing to add to 350 miles already in place, and an array of fixed and mobile devices to maintain vigilance, including high-tech tools such as infrared ground sensors and airborne radar.

The new provisions would be put in place over a decade, in line with the 10-year path to a permanent resident green card that the bill sets out for immigrants here illegally. During that time, the immigrants could live and work legally in a provisional status.

Vice President Joe Biden told a predominantly Latino crowd of 1,100 gathered in Las Vegas for the national conference for the League of United Latin American Citizens that now is the time for a "fair, and firm and unfettered path for 11 million people" to become U.S. citizens.

"The question you should ask is, 'What will immigration reform do for America?'" Biden said Thursday. "The answer is clear and resounding: It can and will do great things for America."

Hoeven said the 10-year cost of the border security amendment included $25 billion for the additional Border Patrol agents, $3 billion for fencing and $3.2 billion for other measures.

It's "border security on steroids," said Corker, who along with Hoeven had been uncommitted on the immigration bill. Both are now prepared to support it, assuming their amendment is adopted, as is expected to happen early next week. Sens. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., also announced their support for the deal Thursday.

The legislation had been expected to be formally unveiled in the Senate late Thursday, but that was delayed as senators and aides negotiated an array of issues, some that will be included in the amendment and some not, as they sought to iron out final obstacles to passage of the overall bill.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who's pursued amendments related to Social Security, welfare, health care and taxes, was expected to see some of his concerns answered with provisions blocking immigrants from claiming credit for Social Security taxes they paid while working without lawful status, ensuring immigrants can't get welfare until after holding permanent resident status for five years, and barring health care tax credits from going to people here on student or tourist visas.

Hoeven said Friday on Fox News Channel that Republicans were still working to ensure that immigrants who were here illegally don't get government benefits before they become permanent legal residents.

"We've taken a tough line on that, and we're getting pushback from the other side. We're saying no. That is one of the items being held up," said Hoeven, without elaborating.

The deal on border security came together quickly over the past several days after talks had bogged down over Republicans' insistence that green cards be made conditional on catching or turning back 90 percent of would-be border crossers. Schumer, other Democrats and Obama himself rejected this trigger, which they feared could delay the path to citizenship for years. Obama made his objections known in a phone call to Schumer from Air Force One during his trip to Europe for the Group of Eight summit earlier in the week, according to a Senate aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

The breakthrough came when the Congressional Budget Office released a report Tuesday finding that the bill would cut billions of dollars from the deficit. Schumer's top immigration aide, Leon Fresco, had the idea of devoting some of those billions to a dramatic border build-up.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an author of the bill who helped run interference between Corker and Hoeven and Democrats in the group, said that with the CBO finding in hand, he sat down with Schumer and Corker and said, "OK, let's go big."

The idea immediately appealed to the left and the right.

For Republicans, it provided concrete assurances that the bill would aim to achieve a secure border. For Democrats, it offered goals that, if dramatic, were achievable and measurable.

Still, not everyone was won over.

Shortly before Corker and Hoeven went to the Senate floor to announce their agreement Thursday afternoon, five leading Republican opponents of the bill held a news conference to denounce the deal as little more than an empty promise.

"In short, I think this amendment is designed to pass the bill but not to fix the bill," Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said.

About 10 Republicans have indicated they will vote for the bill, far more than enough to ensure it will have the 60 votes required to overcome any attempted filibuster by last-ditch opponents. Democrats control 54 seats, and party aides have said they do not expect any defections.

In addition to the border security components and eventual citizenship for the 11 million people now here illegally, the immigration bill would create new work visa programs and expand existing ones to allow tens of thousands of workers into the country to work in high- and low-skilled jobs.